• Under the Drum 2024

    For all the many truly special DIY festivals scattered across the island (Féile Na Gréine, Open Ear, Quarter Block Party…) there is always and forever space for more. For those of you of a similar disposition who are located in and around Belfast—or not adverse to a little road trip—the inaugural outing for Under the Drum on Saturday, 28th September, is very worthy of your attention. Taking over Breckenhill, a family home and events venue just 30 minutes from Belfast and on the edge of the Antrim hills, the boutique festival is, blessedly, set to bring together various artists we’ve…

  • Festival Preview: Another Love Story 2023

    Here’s the story: if a singular sense of belonging sits at the heart of every great summer festival experience, Another Love Story can lay claim to being masters in their (Co. Meath) field. Since its inaugural outing in 2014, the August weekender has transformed the sublime, 18th Century Killyon Manor into a cosy yet sprawling playground of first-rate music, art, conversation, food and more. Centre-stage, every time, are the people. As you walk up to the manor, tent pitched and first can cracked, a deep-set appreciation of the urge mentioned above to be one with both close friends and new faces…

  • All Together Now 2022

    Returning after its forced hiatus, Waterford’s All Together Now festival was back with a bang this weekend, bringing with it one of the most diverse and interesting lineups of any festival this summer. Armed with just his notes app and press pass  -and accompanied by the inimitable Celeste Burdon and her camera – Mike Ryan gives us a glimpse into the odyssey that engulfed Curraghmore Estate for the August bank holiday weekend. Photos by Celeste Burdon I arrive at All Together Now overburdened with probably unnecessary camping equipment, but just in time to catch the back half of The Altered…

  • Féile Na Gréine Announce 2022 Line-up

    Without a slither of shadow of a doubt, Féile Na Gréine is the purest representation of what Limerick has to offer in the realm of independent, forward-pushing Irish music (look no further than our review of its thrilling 2019 edition). The brainchild of incalculable volunteers and creative sounders from the city, this year’s line-up is its biggest and best yet. Taking over various venues such as Pharmacia across 19th-21st August, it brings together a whole heap of TTA favourites including Fixity, Girlfriend, Frog of Earth, Junior Brother, Messyng, Natalia Beylis, Son Zept, Post Punk Podge, Zeropunkt, Brigid Mae Power, Banríon, Emmy Shigeta…

  • Line-Up Announced For Electric Picnic 2022

    The line-up for this year’s Electric Picnic has been revealed. Marking its return to Stradbally Estate in Co. Laois after three years, this year’s bill features headliners including Tame Impala, Arctic Monkeys and Megan Thee Stallion, as well as Pixies, Sleaford Mods, Bright Eyes, Wolf Alice and more. There’s a raft of Irish acts in there too, from CMAT, Kojaque and Just Mustard, to Denise Chaila, For Those I Love and Saint Sister.With more acts set to be announced in the coming weeks, check out the full first line-up announcement below. Tickets for this year’s festival go on sale at 9am…

  • SoFFT Nights Reveal 2022 Line-Up

    Lisa O’Neill and Tolü Makay are among the names set to play this year’s SoFFT Nights. Making its return to Dunderry Park in Co. Meath across 4-5th June, the festival will also play host to Elaine Mai (with MayKay and Sinead White), Pastiche, Moxie, Kíla, and Séan Fitzgerald with Lankum’s Daragh Lynch across the weekend. Beyond live music, there will also be activities including astronomy talks, bat walks, shamanic journeying, reggae yoga, sound baths, active imagination workshops, music for young children, and site-specific theatre. “We put on the very first festival in the midst of covid in October 2020 and over the course of…

  • Open Ear To Return in Summer

    A few stout in the Jolly Roger? Praise be: Open Ear is returning this summer. The country’s leading electronic/experimental festival will once again take over Sherkin Island off Cork across June 3-5th. Line-up and tickets will be revealed soon. Never been? Check out Eoin Murray’s review of the festival’s unforgettable 2019 outing here.

  • Lorde, Bicep & More Set For Forbidden Fruit 2022

    Lorde and Bicep are among the acts set to play next year’s Forbidden Fruit festival. Taking place at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin across the Bank Holiday weekend of June 4 & 5 2022, the festival’s return after three years will also feature sets by the likes of Hot Chip, Floating Points, The Avalanches, Princess Nokia, Kojaque, Gemma Dunleavy and more. Many more acts are to be announced. Check out the full first announcement below. Weekend tickets for Forbidden Fruit 2022 start from €129.50 and go on sale on Thursday, December 2 at 8AM.

  • All Together Now Announce 2022 Line-Up

    All Together Now have announced a stacked line-up for its return next summer. Across the August Bank Holiday (July 29-July 31 2022) the festival will make its return to Curraghmore Estate in Co. Waterford after a three-year break. And it was well and truly worth the wait. Across 18 stages of music, art, theatre, spoken word, comedy, food and more, the festival will feature sets by the likes of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Underworld, Sinead O’Connor, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, DJ Koze, Jungle, Groove Armada, Honey Dijon, Dry Cleaning, Joy Orbison and more. And there’s an absolute…

  • Spilt Milk Festival Announce 2021 Line-Up

    Spilt Milk makes its return to Sligo for its third edition from 18th – 21st November, 2021. Coming a year on from its online event Transmission last November, organisers are delighted to announce the festival will return as an in-person series of live shows, installations, film screenings and workshops across four days and nights. As with previous installments, Spilt Milk have once again delivered an eclectic, carefully-curated bill that reflects the scope of forward-pushing music and art in Ireland today. On Thursday, 18th November, the festival launches with a zine workshop and an audio-visual trail. On Friday 19th November the…